My feeling (but what do I know?) is that if you don't have any experience on Mount McKinley and you're asking on a forum like summitpost.org for information on a route as demanding as the Cassin Ridge, you'll probably be better off trying the West Buttress.

It not for me say whether you have the chops to climb Cassin, but if you have not been to the Alaska Range before or other large ranges you may be in for a bit of sticker shock. Some good folks to talk to:

Joe Puryear. joepuryear at hotmail dot com. Super nice guy, author of an excellent guide book to the Range. Between him and his frequent partner, Mark Westman, they have perhaps more Alaska Range experience than anyone currently climbing.

Mark Westman. Also a super nice guy. Don't have his email address handy, but if you call Talkeetna Air Taxi they can hook you up. He is married to Paul Rodericks sister, Basecamp Lisa and frequenty works at TAT.

Colin Haley. colinhaley at attbi dot com (this may be an old address) Also a super nice guy. He recently soloed the Cassin very nearly beating Mug Stump's record. He will be able to give you some good advice.

Hence the experience leading at a higher rock and ice level to prepare yourself for the challenges on the mountain. For example it is recommended to lead fast at a 5.7 trad to tackle Sir Donald (5.4 III)

Last edited by James_W on Fri Sep 10, 2010 7:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

Heck yeah! Go for it! Train your ass off. Climb pinnacle buttress then climb pinnacle gully, then do the buttress again...in January. If you put your heart into it you can do it.
Or you may get off the plane and try the west rib instead... But who cares, dream big.

Steve Gruhn wrote:My feeling (but what do I know?) is that if you don't have any experience on Mount McKinley and you're asking on a forum like summitpost.org for information on a route as demanding as the Cassin Ridge, you'll probably be better off trying the West Buttress.

Or as a friend of mine said, "it's never a bad thing to know the descent route"!

Of course a lot of people who do the Cassin climb the West Buttress or another route first to acclimatize.